Rainbow Vortex
by Preddlebunny
Summary: Amber Johansen, a 23 year old wanna be astronomist is sucked in to the future by some random anomolie.OC/? I suck at summaries but plz read and review
1. Chapter 1

**Trying one of those sucked in sorta things, so I hope you like it and please review..**

(BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEP)

"Glynn turn the damn alarm off already" Amber rolled over and tried to reach for her blankets only to find that they had fallen to the floor in a pile. She groaned from the spinning and throbbing hurricane that formed inside her head from last nights hangover. The lights pierced through the fully drawn curtains bathing her freckled face in a yellow glow "Glyyyynnn turn it off" she whined covering her ears but after a few moments of no reply she nearly smashed the obnoxious little device with her fist.

"Glynn?" swinging her legs over the side of her bed she saw the mattress next to her was perfectly made as if no one had touched it. _She must have spent the night with one of her guy friends again_ Amber swayed, feeling the nauseating tingles cascade from her toes and into her vision. _No more drinking. Ever. _Amber lied, it was all Paul's fault for talking her into going to a college dorm party, what a total mistake. Hardly anything that took place place last night was still in her memory maybe a few slide shows of some really stupid shit but after her fifth shot of straight up tequila it was all blurs.

"I wonder where the hell Glynn is?" Grabbing her cell phone she speed dialed her roommates number. It rang a few times and went straight to voicemail. She frowned, Amber hated it when her friend just disappeared after parties "Hey girl uh it's Amber, like you didn't know that, so where the hell are you it's like" her gray eyes darted over to the clock "good lord it's like twelve thirty you need to get back here before I send a search party out for you m'kay bye" she tossed her phone on the bed and staggered over to the mirror. Thank the good god in green heaven it was a Saturday and she didn't have any classes scheduled or else her ass would be baked and her Physics teacher would be the one to toss her in the oven.

Using her hands to keep her steady before the mirror she stared at her half drunken reflection. The twenty three year old that stared back was a completely different face than before she had came to this dreadful colledge. The happy, young spark in her eyes was replaced with one of discontentment from the five years she had put into trying to get a Masters in Physics had caused her to become bone-tired and ready for something different. Everything else about her had remained the same. Her face was youthful and pale, from lack of time in the sun, with a few freckles sprinkled across her nose. Her eyes which used to be a pale blue had dimmed to a color of a cloudy sky, puffy with dark circles clearly evident. Using a brush she fought through the tangles of her dark brown hair until they were completely smooth.

The smooth chime of the doorbell floated to her ears from the front of the room then twice at a faster pace.

"Come in" Amber barked while swallowing an Advil pill with a cup of tap water. She turned around to see someone standing at her door whom was by all means unwelcome. His tall, hulky frame ; wide shoulders and tousled blonde bed hair stood beneath her door frame. Green eyes, bright enough to grab any girls attention, stared quizzically at her as if he was confused by her not wanting him there which he obviously was not.

"Babe is something wrong, you left the party early we didn't get to hang out much" a light, playboy voice chimed at her as if nothing was wrong as he just let himself in.

Amber furrowed her slightly slanted eyebrows and turned her back to him while she packed her back pack. She was going to go to the community park to read and work on her studies "I'm surprised you even remember me being there seeing you were too busy with all those other whores Scott" she bit back the urge to toss her nearly broken alarm clock at his smug little face and turned around to him "I left because of you remember?"

He snorted a laugh which only ignited her fury even more "oh yea we had a little argument" she couldn't believe he was acting as if getting caught in another girls bed was nothing to be concerned with "what was it about again?"

This time she whizzed about and sharply pointed out her door "get the hell out of my room, now!" her face had turned a slight pink as she felt her heart pound through her silk nightgown.

He took a daring step closer "whoa whoa babe what has gotten into you, so I got a little buzzed last night with someone I barely knew it doesn't meant I was literally cheating on you" he rubbed one of her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes, the same way he looked at her when they first met and she had thought they would be together forever "I'm sorry alright it wont happen again. I was just having some fun".

Amber bit her lip and lifted her chin up which was long way considering how short she was compared to him "no it wont happen because I wont give you the chance" her whisper was a deadly hush in the air between them or at least until he started having a giggle fit at whatever part of this he thought funny. Cheeks flushed with blind fury she slung the backpack over her shoulder, still in her pajamas, she was about to march out of her room before he grabbed her wrist roughly.

"Look sweetheart I played it nice now-" he doubled over when her bare foot came in rough contact with his groin and then a palm to the underside of his nose, breaking it on contact. _Thank the lord for a father in the military._ Grabbing her flip flops by the door she literally ran down the hall, thankfully remembering to stick the car keys in her backpack. A whimper escaped her lips as an escapade of tears threatened to spill over her eye rims. They had been dating for nearly two years since she got here and she had given him nearly everything and only asked to be loved in return and this was his 'love'.

"Stupid ass cheating mother f-" Amber cursed and cursed low under her breath as she hopped into her silver Eclipse and drove toward the community park. How in the hell was she going to pass her exams with her mind flooded with nothing but the good memories that were now ashes to a extinguished fire?

Her head was so occupied with concern that when her phone rang she nearly swerved off the road "hello?" Amber answered trying hard to fight back the occasional whimpering and sobbing.

"Hey Ambie it's mom it's been a while sweetie" her moms hypnotic yet loud voice cracked her ear drums from the other side of the line.

Amber capped her sniffling in order to avoid a long and pointless explanation of last nights events "n-no mom I called you yesterday remember?"

"Oh yea you did didn't you, well I was just checking up on you. How are you? You don't sound too good? Is it that cafeteria food? Oh I bet they serve you all kinds of cheap crap"

She switched the phone to the right side of her ear and wiped a stray tear from her cheek "N-no mom it's none of that their food is fine. I-I'm fine I'm just heading to the park to study and have some alone time. Amber decided to switch topics "How are you two, How's Kevin and Dad?"

"Oh..their just fine. Your little brother is still wanting to be in the military like his father, not really surprising considering the fact were now officially living on a military base" on the other line she heard her mother sigh in contempt. Amber was slightly glad she didn't have to move all the time because of her father's career as a general. She now had the luxury of staying in one place, though in the five years she's been attending this college she missed her family more than ever.

Amber chuckled back after a long period of silence, her sniffles still trying to keep themselves at bay "I'm not surprised, he plays way to many video games that require shooting people. You should try to get him to go outside sometime, sunlight is good for the boy".

She literally felt her mothers eyes roll to that comment "yea good luck with that" in the background a young and blatant voice said hi and Amber instantly smiled knowing it was her young and wanna be Rambo brother. She replied back loud enough for him to hear and before she had a chance to listen to what Kevin screamed back, her vision was engulfed with a stream of vivid colors and her body felt as if it was being shredded one cell at a time.

Amber thought that she had been completely stoned and was just visualing or hallucinating what she was now witnessing. Rainbows of colors streamed past her and it looked as if she was floating through a tube. Nothing came from her throat for a scream couldn't be heard, something penetrated on the other side and the next thing she felt was falling until she hit a hard and metal ground.

"Ahhh" she groaned on impact as the side of her face smashed against the metal, cold surface of wherever she was. Spiraling colors filled her vision as her breath came in quick and shallow. She still felt the weight of her backpack against her as she leaned up against what looked like a huge metal container "where the hell--" Amber could barely finish as her eyes scanned the surrounding she was strangely tossed into. Machines, pipes and a large tube full of liquid that looked like water made up the contents of the huge area.

"God I must be buzzed out my mind, and I can't be dead-" gray eyes froze on her cell phone and she thanked the gods it was still in one piece. She flipped the phone open and saw that there was no signal here. This wasn't a dream, it felt all too real. Maybe it's a prank, Scotty probably did this. He probably drugged her with something so she'll experience weird visual stuff or something. That boy was always trying new drugs despite her warnings.

Amber brushed back a long strand of dark hair before putting it up in a lazy bun. If someone had captured her then she had to find a way out. Although that didn't explain what she just saw, maybe her mind was playing tricks on her or the capturers had pumped her up with some sort of hallucination drug so they could get a good laugh. Oh god someone probably put something in those shots of tequila!

Gathering whatever strength she harbored she started searching for a way out.

* * *

Kirk sat lazily in his chair with one hand propped in a hand. Nothing exciting was happening, no reports, no commands, no missions just 'exploring and just by looking around he wasn't the only one feeling that their talents should at least be put to good use.

Chekov and Sulu, two of his most trusted friends harbored the same bored expression as they ran usual scans and minor diagnostics to check if everything was working just in case, by some small chance, something sprang up. Spock was over instructing one of his ensigns how to run high bandwidth sensor readings, obviously occupied.

Kirk's blue eyes danced across the frontal screen as the stars whizzed by at warp three.

"Captain I am detecting a massive energy fluxuation in water coolant bay two" a Lieutenant to his left immideatley jerked the Starfleet Captain into focus as he turned to face the rather young female "it's gone now but I'm detecting an intruder as well"

Spock was already over at the station ordering the Lieutenant to bring it up on screen. The visual aid flickered up on the blue screen but all they caught was a humanoid figure leaving the range of camera. The Commander quickly pushed the com button "security to coolant bay two we have a possible intruder, keep phasers on stun".

* * *

First Amber was walking on a plank above the ground floor and the next she was surrounded by red suited men but that wasn't the part that scared her. They were pointing some weird alien guns straight at the poor girl. She panicked and searched for a possible escape but they were all around her and closing in. _Great a bunch of red suited freaks have me kidnapped and their ain't no telling what they want. What the heck are those things their holding anyway? I've gotta find a way out._

She then realized why they were staring at her like she had two heads sticking out her ass. She was still in her black silk pajama bottoms and top. Nice, but that was the least of her worries. "Get away from me!" Amber screamed as one of them tried to grab her and she was actually considering jumping over the railing and besting it at landing without breaking anything until a particularly large man caught her before she could and twisted her wrist behind her back and shoved her struggling form out of the room.

**Dum dum dumm…or is it dun? Idk whatever so what'll happen hmm? Will she get taken captive? Or will she wind up kneeing one of them in the groin? And why am I asking you these questions because only I know maharajah (cough) review…please….?/?/???/**


	2. Chapter 2

"_Captain we've got the intruder, what are your orders?"_ the security guard's voice pierced through the internal com on the bridge. In the back ground noise he heard a woman screaming in a psychotic tantrum as if she was being ripped apart limb to limb but the captain knew his officers were polite enough not to do that so the thought flittered away in his mind.

Kirk swung his chair over to face Spock whom was listening intently yet harbored confusion and suspicion beneath those dark unfeeling eyes "bring him to the bridge ensign" the captain ordered. He wanted to see who it was and ask how he got on board his ship.

"_Yes sir and you should know it ain't no him, it's a girl, about eighteen I would guess" _Struggle was certainly coming from his voice and his fellow officers around him giving the intention whomever it was gave up a pretty good fight and was scared of getting captured. This got the Captain suspicious "_and she's a fistey one sir" _Jim chewed on his inner lip but almost broke out in a chuckle when he heard the captured in the background hiss out something about correcting his apprehension on her age.

"That's alright Olsen I'm sure you can handle her, bring her to the bridge in one piece if you don't mind" the com link broke as he waited for his 'guests' arrival.

.

.

.

.

Kirk and Spock both stood ready near the turbo lift, both of them suspicious yet anxious to see whom it might be. Since their increase in transporter technology they were now able to beam people to and from moving objects but if that was so then they would have detected a transport beam not an anomaly.

The turbo lift finally opened, and both his and his Commander's eyes opened a bit wider when they saw how hard the girl was struggling against her captors and even more surprised on how she was dressed. Jim took this moment to survey her. She was young but around his age and had a medium sized body and figure. Neither skinny nor fat but somewhere in between. Her furious gray eyes were lit with hatred but somewhere deep inside them he saw a cringe of fear and desperation as well. Her features twisted on her freckled pale skin. Dark brown hair, almost black, dropped in waves past her trembling shoulders. When she looked up at him he noted her high cheekbones and strangely thin, high eyebrows. Snarling, puffy lips hissed curses at him he couldn't imagine he would ever say. All in all, if the circumstances were different he would consider this woman quite beautiful.

Spock's expressions never changed even when her confused glare settled on him. He noted she was quite young in human standards and in Olsen's guess she did look about in her late teens but her defensive attitude and colorful vocabulary told him that was incorrect.

Amber growled as she glanced in between them but mostly at the one with the pointed ears and slanted eyebrows. _What the hell? This must be some sort of joke he looks like an elf for crying out loud!_ She decided to push his strange looks aside for the moment but mentally noted herself to ask questions about it later. Her arms and wrist were held in place firmly by the two 'security guards' beside her. There was three but the other had to go to sickbay when she grabbed a stray pipe and nearly prevented the guy from ever having kids. It was a useless attempt but Amber pulled against her captors anyway.

"Let go of me!" she hissed at the large man by her side, temporarily ignoring the two staring at her like some alien "Do you know who my dad is, he's a general of the USS military and if he find out you did this then you'll be sorry-"

Kirk was the first to speak up to the young woman "How did you get on board my ship?" he tried desperately to keep his voice at a cool level in order to attain a sense of calmness from her.

Her lips once again formed into a menacing snarl "Well you should know you captured me you dumb prick now let me go! I don't know what kind of prank you've got going on but it isn't funny" the guards tightened their grip on her arms and pulled her back a few inches to keep the barely sane girl from injuring the Captain.

Everyone on the bridge was watching the scene between the three now in wonder and Amber immideatley felt self-conscious but didn't give a damn because she was getting out of here one way or another.

"We didn't capture you" Kirk assured and put two hands out as a gesture he meant no harm "we got an energy reading on our internal scanner in the coolant bay and then you were detected. Were you beamed here from another ship?".

"I don't know what you're talking about pretty boy I'm not from no ship why the heck would I wanna be on one any way?" her voice hadn't lowered one octave since she arrived in this strange room "Look if you just let me get back home then I'll tell my father not to completely kill you for kidnapping me how does.." she pulled against her right arm with a futile grunt "..that sound!?"

The strange pointed eared man took an even closer step than Kirk with his hands firmly pressed in front of him as if he was about to conduct an important meeting "perhaps if you calm down, we could discuss your whereabouts more efficiently" Amber didn't like the tone of his voice, it was so straight forward and had no emotion in it what so ever. What the hell kind of a place was this?

"Yea try and tell yourself to calm down after you've been through what I have Rumplestilskin" was her snide remark to the oddly dressed elf guy. Then she felt one of her captors ever so slightly loose his grip. _This is my chance. _With one forceful yank she pulled that said arm free and whipped it back with sheer force into the gut of the fatter and awfully rude security man. Olsen wheezed and dropped on one knee long enough for Amber to bring an elbow to his nose and by then he was knocked out with sheer pain in both areas. Using the techniques her father taught her she rolled backwards from the other guards grasp and quickly grabbed the strange looking gun from the holster of the one she had just knocked out.

It felt like a normal handgun and seemed to have the specific functions so she pointed it at them as if she knew what she was doing "alright now take me back to Californ-" her entire body froze for a moment when an icy cold hand touched the side of her neck in a pinch like fashion"uhhhg" was the only thing she managed to let out before the nerves in her body sent a shockwave to her brain and everything went black.

* * *

Amber was swimming in a pool of blackness, tip toeing on the edge of reality and dream land when her vision and consciousness started to take form again. Bright lights swirled above in a whirlpool fashion before a face came into view. It was an older man than the ones seen in that other room but he looked rather handsome none the less.

"How are ya?" he spoke back with a thick southern accent as his face disappeared from view again. Amber blinked her eyes a few times and groaned at the pounding headache. It literally felt like someone was drilling a hole into her cranium with a screw driver by hand. Then she felt something cold on the side of her neck and then a whoosh of air came from the device that left her skin tingling with numbness.

"Is she awake yet?" a familiar yet emotionless voice said off to the right of where she laid. Amber was still trying to figure out if she was in a dream or if this was real. It had to be.

"More importantly is she sane?" Corrected another voice.

McCoy fiddled with his scanner and then transferred the data to a padd "her endorphins are high but as for her neural activity she's fine now that I've given her a sedative but there's something a little off. I don't detect any of the usual vaccinations within her bloodstream that all space traveling officers or civilians are required to get before docking out" the older doctor shook his head and muttered to himself "her blood type is unknown as well and I can't find it anywhere in the computer database".

Amber groaned as she craned her head to see whom it was. Just to her luck that pretty boy and emotionless statue were standing in the big room along with the doctor whom she seen not seconds ago. Her mind whirled as she surveyed the room. Bleeping computers, whizzing alien technology. She must by in some highly upgraded laboratory or something. Strangely her neck hurt the worst as if she had jabbed a couple hundred times with a butter knife then her eyes widened when she realized she was completely naked under a thin blanket "umm excuse me!" her shrilling voice knocked the three men out of their conversation. Her gray eyes darted accusingly over every one of their faces "would one of you please tell me why I am naked!?" Amber leaned up clutching the cover against her exposed skin.

The man known as McCoy hurried over and pressed her down, despite the resistance she gave she eventually obliged "I had to do a physical exam to make sure you didn't have any infectious diseases and plus the bio scanning chamber wont work with clothes".

Amber shot up again despite his warning glares and attempts to keep her down while he reloaded his hypo spray "I didn't give anyone permission to physically exam me".

She could tell he was getting mildly annoyed at her persistent behavior by his expressions "please calm down before you have another mental breakdown I'll get you your clothes and you can get dressed just gimmie a second" he walked somewhere else to get something while the one known as the Captain of something walked up to her bedside.

"We're not going to hurt you" he cooed showing compassion that calmed her slightly. He certainly didn't' look like the type that would kidnap young women off the streets but he did look like the type that would have three one night stands in one night. "What's your name I'm Captain James Tiberius Kirk but you can call me Jim" he gestured for Spock to come on over "and this is Spock my Commanding officer" Spock inclined his head toward her in some sort of greeting.

Amber kept her mouth in a tight line while she studied the odd looking, black haired man. His eyebrows were arched and he had high clearly defined cheekbones and a handsome jaw, the thing that got her the most were his ears and how pointed and odd looking they were, certainly not human unless he was disfigured. His dark eyes, so unemotional but somewhere back behind him a war was fighting a war between show and don't show. It was odd staring into those eyes and it almost made her shiver from his gaze. Amber pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration and to help direct the pain from her pounding headache "uh my name is Amber Johansen".

"Alright since your other clothes were a bit..scanty" McCoy said bluntly as he interrupted their greeting and tossed a neatly folded stack of clothing and footwear in her lap "I had some replicated for ya" She forced a half smile and thanked the doctor then turned her cold stare toward the two.

Kirk was just staring at her with a hypnotized smile like an old man waiting to get his first lap dance, completely oblivious to her harsh stare of 'go the hell away'. Spock was descent enough to notice and turned to his friend "Captain I propose we leave and allow her to dress"

The Captains blue eyes seem to crack like glass as he jerked awake "oh yea, when you're done we can answer your questions ok?" Amber swallowed and nodded as they both left the sick bay. Yes, she would have a hell of a lot of questions to ask.

The Doctor led her into his office and ordered the computer to black out the windows so she could dress. Amber stood fascinated for a moment at the advanced technology of where ever the heck she was until her attention was diverted when she still realized she had a blanket wrapped around her and it was getting rather chilly. The clothes the doctor gave her was quite..unique she could say the least. It was a full maroon body suit with a gray studded belt that had some sort of white pearl like gems embedded into it. Her slightly heeled boots were gray and almost reached her knees. When she finally got the outfit on it hugged her curves rather well, at least it was better than running around half naked.

When she was finished she walked out and received an eyebrow raise from Doctor McCoy but he was too much of a gentlemen to say anything more and simply handed her the backpack she had with her and gestured her out the door where the Captain and Commander were waiting. When the door slid open she seemed to have interrupted a hushed conversation between the two but they both turned around to acknowledge her presence.

"Wow" Kirk blurted looking at the snug outfit she had acquired "you look..great" he trailed his eyes from her feet and back up to her eyes before he caught her unapproved glare. Spock too looked at her new outfit but pressed his lips in a tight line to keep from being as ill mannered as the captain.

Amber crossed her arms "you said you'd answer my questions and I hope you can answer mine" her voice was disdainful but whose wouldn't be.

"Right we can discuss this in my lounge , come"

They led her through the corridors, up a turbo lift and into a small room with sofa's, strange machines attached into the wall and a TV like monitor in the front and a desk shoved lazily the corner as if it was never in use. Amber shrugged her backpack off her shoulders and sat in a sofa chair only fit for one while Spock and Jim sat on the opposite side. A small coffee table separated them.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Jim asked ever so casually like dealing with a girl whose flown from a rainbow tunnel is an every day thing.

Amber shrugged lazily, why not? "pshh I could use a strong ass margarita but I guess that wouldn't be appropriate. I'll have a vente mocha extra cream please" she watched as he ordered it from a strange machine and her mouth dropped only a few feet when it appeared out of nowhere. _Gawd I could have fun with one of those._ "How did-" she could barely finish her sentence.

"It's called a Replicator" Kirk finished and handed her the ice cold beverage, her mouth was still dropped as she studied the cup in her hand with plain awe. "It can replicate and make food and drinks when ever you want" he finished.

Amber closed her mouth noticing she looked like a fool and took the drink to hide her blush. It tasted like the real thing so it wasn't a figment of her imagination. _Cool. _The creamy brown liquid filled her nostrils with the scent of straight up coffee and cream. The smell tingles to her spine and brain that caused her to wake up a tad bit more. "Thanks that's a neat device" she set the glass down on the table and darted her eyes between the two of them "Now can you start by telling me where I am?"

Kirk answered that for her, his face turning from satisfied to serious "you're on the starship Enterprise and we're in the Delta Quadrant".

Amber froze in time her mouth opening slightly "Wait wait wait, starship? Quadrants? When the hell did all this happen? Wha-" she felt herself start to hyperventilate "How did I even get here?" Spock and Kirk both watched her in utter confusion as she seemed to have frozen in time "Oh wait I get it!" ironically she started to laugh causing Spock to cock and eyebrow.

Comically she stood up and kept laughing "I'm being punked right, I mean this all like some sort of stage set right? Alright Lenny I get it, you got me, it's over now very funny".

"Ms. Johansen" Spock finally spoke up "I assure you, you are not being..punked. This is a galaxy class starship now currently on a mission toward Starbase 233"

That seemed to shut her up for a moment but her entire mind was buzzing like a stirred up bee hive and she sat down cradling her head "I don't understand" Amber muttered small tears threatening to spill over.

"Ms. Johansen what year are you from?" Spock questioned his voice still that same emotionless void.

Amber tilted her pale face up toward his black eyes stared at him in question "why?"

"Upon your arrival we detected an energy mass in that area you appeared in, we ran some spectrical analysis and we configured it with the same energy signature of that of a black hole but it wasn't of any similarity. We have comprehended that you may have came through a rogue anomaly that is designed to appear randomly in the space time continuum".

She shuddered a whimper and buried her face in her hands "are you saying I got sucked into the future by some time vortex?" She was almost a Masters in Physics but had never dealt with anything that could bend time and space, it was out of her league and out of her time.

Spock nodded sympathetically "it is a random anomaly that has no direct pattern or designation. There are reports of this anomaly in non numerical sequences throughout the galaxy in different time zones and areas. Not much very much is known about it and it's path is undecipherable to us".

Amber didn't move her head from her hands only spun the information around in her head like cotton candy. She was afraid for the first time in a while. Would she never get to see her family again? "What year is it?" she prayed it wasn't too far into the future but then again that hope was nothing but a faint candle in a hurricane. With this technology it would have to be far.

She felt someone sit down next to her and place a hand on her shoulder. Amber looked up and saw the Captains apologetic face smile warmly down at her "the year is 2258"

Everything in her body sank and the tears were now flowing in their own salty trials down her face and dropped from her nose and chin. Her mother, father and little brother would never see her face again. What did they think once they found her gone? Oh god she couldn't even remember what she was doing before the anomaly picked her up. "I-It was August 23, 2009 where I came from. I-I'll never get back home? Is that what you're saying?" she tried to hold back her sniffles. She doesn't cry very often and when she did it was for a good damn reason. Both of them were silent for a moment and Amber instantly knew the answer to her question.

The Captain started rubbing her shoulder in a way to comfort her while Spock swallowed, he knew what it was like to lose a home even if it's just in a different time it was just as painful. "I'm sorry we can't do anything to help you right now Amber but we'll try and figure out how to track this anomaly. We'll do all we can we promise". He returned to his seat next to Spock.

"It was going to be my little brothers birthday next week" she sniffled smiling at the memory but her mouth kept trembling into a frown "I-I was going to get him to that stupid Halo 3 game he wouldn't shut up about"

Kirk smiled again although he had no idea what Halo 3 was.

"A lot has happened since your time Ms. Johansen Humans of Earth became warp-capable in 2063, which was the same year they experienced first official contact with an alien species, the Vulcans. I am half-Vulcan".

_2063? Wow I would have been so old at that time. _Amber lifted her head up, curious. She noted his features and knew something about him wasn't right or at least human "you're saying we discovered aliens, and you are one of the aliens?"

He nodded once "I am half human half Vulcan, a hybrid. Earth made contact with other species as well such as Andorians, Klingons, Tellerites there is a rather long list of them all. We are now able to travel through space at warp speeds and have obtained several human colonies among other planets.

"Wow" Amber mused still studying him intently "not really what I expected aliens to look like. I would expect them to look more…alien I guess".

Spock rose both eyebrows at her comment but said nothing.

"Well" Amber sighed fiddling with her tear stained fingers, her breath was still shallow and shuddering from her sobs "what am I going to do now?"

"We'll try our best to find out how to get you back home Amber but it may take a while. In the mean time we can assign you some special quarters to yourself if you'd like" he smiled charmingly at her. Hopefully it was just a polite smile from a Captain "and if you have any questions" Kirk clapped his Vulcan friend on the shoulder "Spock here can fill you in".

Her gray eyes locked with his for a moment before she nodded in thanks. After picking up her backpack the Vulcan led her to her room that only a few doors down from his to make her feel same and the Captains was up on the second deck if she should ever need him.

Amber stepped in, the room was quite elegant like it would be reserved for an important person rather than just a guest. It had nice couches made of material that looked like leather but was as soft as fluffy cotton filled pillow. Plant pots, knick knacks, alien decorations adorned the walls and shelves.

"Wow this place is nice" she murmured to herself and her eyes locked on the breath taking view of space going by at warp speed out her window "so this is space" walking over she placed one hand on the cool glass. A part of her heart sank for missing so many years but was also filled with buoyant elation that made her excited.

"Affirmative" the assuring voice of the Commander floated from behind her "we are now traveling through the Delorian system at warp factor three our current designation is Deneva Prime to the starbase".

Amber sighed in contempt. She wanted to be an Astronomer because of her fascination with the stars and planets and one day dreamed of soaring through them but now it all felt so..empty. The bruise on her neck was starting to hurt again "why does my neck hurt?"

Spock seemed to be ashamed for just a split second then cleared his throat "I must apologize Ms. Johansen when you were frenzied on the bridge I had to use the Vulcan neck pinch".

An dumbfounded expression crossed the woman's face as she vigorously rubbed the blue and red welt on her skin "a Vulcan what now?"

He stepped closer with his hands carefully placed behind her back "it is a technique that derived within our culture it involves applying pressure to the near base of the neck and instantly renders the victim unconscious which is the result of your neuro fibers being ruptured".

Amber mulled the words over a few moments then cracked a smile "that trick could come in handy. I guess I kind of deserved it for how I was behaving".

"Your actions were necessary due to your state, I do not place a blame on you in any such way" was his stout reply.

"Thanks" she muttered still feeling pretty bad "I still feel pretty bad though at least for that guard I sent to sickbay. Is he alright?"

He nodded "Affirmative, Ensign Olsen suffered from a broken nose and bruised rib cage but he was released merely minutes before you regained consciousness".

Amber nodded and brushed a strand of hair away from her face before she turned back around to stare off into the black celestial blanket, her soul feeling as empty as the space before her. Spock didn't move only observed her behavior from behind "Ms. Johansen do you remember any past events prior to you being sent here through the anomaly?"

She inclined her head in a thoughtful manner before plopping down on the couch "no, not really. I remember my family, going to college and my friend Glynn. We were at this party but everything is so vague I can't make out the last time I was back on earth".

"I think recollecting your memory will prove sufficient in finding a way to get you back to your time perhaps informing us how you felt or what you saw will assist us. I suggest you attempt at recollection by achieving sufficient rest "

Chuckling slightly she placed her head in both hands "I'm not sure if I can get any sleep but I'll try"

"If it proves unsuccessful Ms. Johansen I can assist with a Vulcan mind meld" Spock inquired not at all changing his tone or expression.

Amber cocked her head "you wanna meld my head? How is that supposed to help me remember?"

His lips twitched into what she thought could be an attempted smile "Another technique derived from our culture. It is a telepathic link between two individuals, allowing for exchange of thoughts, thus in essence allowing the participants to become one mind through touch".

A dark eyebrow rose "Really, you can…read my mind?"

He nodded sharply once "It will be a last resort of course, some mind melds can be traumatizing to certain humans and I would not want to injure you in any way".

"of course not that would be unfortunate" a smile cracked on her lips "thanks for the help I guess I'll get some rest for now"

"Of course you are free to go in any areas of the ship and if you need any assistance just contact either me or the Captain through the com."

"Oh and Mr. Spock" he stopped just outside the door and turned around "you can call me Amber" he gave a small nod before the doors closed behind him leaving her in the dimly lit room. She rubbed her shoulders, the room was slightly too cold for her taste.

Walking over to the replicator she stood before it uneasily "umm computer can I have" now that she could basically have anything she wants it was suddenly a tuff decision "I'll have some vegetable soup with a side of crackers and a cup of iced tea please" again Amber watched eagerly and in amazement as the food just appeared in front of her.

Setting it on the coffee table she opened up her backpack to see if she brought anything useful. A few text books, ruler, her cell phone, a notebook, scattered pieces of gum and candy wrappers and a camera. Oh yea, she must have took some pictures of the party or something she did prior to being sucked here but when she tried to turn it on it didn't work. She checked the batteries to see if they had been fried or fallen out but nothing seemed to be wrong it just quit working.

"Okay never mind that idea then" she tossed it on the couch and started on her food. It turned out she was practically starving and didn't remember the last time she's had anything to eat. The hot meal stirred in her stomach and cooled off with the glass of iced tea. Things were quiet in her quarters for a while only reminding her how lonely she felt. It was as if she was trapped in a black room, just floating there, her soul felt as empty as her bowl now was. Eventually after hours of staring off into space with red tired eyes she fell asleep in her day clothes.

* * *

Kirk glanced up from his cards at his rival across the table. As if he was holding a big secret he did his best to hide his prized from him. Sulu on the other side was smirking deviously trying to read the Captains eyes or at least see the reflection of his cards in them and Chekov's face was as calm as the Obsidian sea itself with no suspicion or mistrust in his eyes. Young, blind fool he was.

"Nope sorry that is a face of guilt" Kirk shook his head, grinning "you're bluffing.

Sulu expectantly turned his face toward Chekov who was contemplating his move. The key to poker was being able to read a poker-face but the Russian whiz-kid just looked at his own cards and at the table silently. A few more seconds and he smiled "Sorry I will have to fold" he laid his cards down in defeat before Sulu followed suite and revealed his trap.

A royal flush laid before Jim as he groaned for losing another round "seriously are you guys trying to break me here".

Sulu only chuckled "I'm telling you I have a wicked poker-face" and scooted all the chips toward him "It's all about the bluff".

Sulu started re shuffling the cards after he had collected his bounty "so have you told Starfleet Command about the girl yet?" the oriental asked.

"Yea I talked to someone at the head of the science academy if they knew anything about this anomaly. They said that the last report of something like that happened thirty years ago at one of our earth colonies, nothing really that useful".

"So what do we do in the mean time?" Chekov asked.

The Captain shrugged "Continue with our previous mission. There isn't must we can do at this time. Spock has volunteered some of his time to work on the problem and try to learn more about it, until then she's just going to have to ruff it in the twenty third century". His blue eyes darted to the table as Sulu started speed passing out the cards. "It's kind of sad really".

"I'm pretty sure she's taking it pretty hard I mean all her family and friends are gone I bet she feels pretty lonely" Sulu inquired, his voice barely a whisper. Silence filled the air between the three of them sitting across the green poker table, every one of them thinking about something or someone back on Earth they missed. For Kirk it was mainly his mother but other than her there wasn't anything else back on Earth for him to miss and it certainly wasn't his stepfather.

"Well she's got us, and me to keep her company" he smirked half sarcastically.

"Keptin I honestly don't think she wants your type of 'company'" Chekov inquired with a raised brow and fruitful smile

"Hey let a man dream Chenkov" the two others around him just smirked. Some things never change.

"_Captain and priority two message from Starfleet is waiting for you in your office" _came Spock's voice over the com.

"I'll be right there" Kirk groaned, not a half hour of poker time to spare before someone had to message him.


End file.
